For many years, industrial automation was mainly associated with PLCs, sensors, and variable frequency drives.
Today, Ubuntu is also becoming increasingly common in industrial gateways, ARM industrial computers, machine vision systems, robotics, and edge computing devices.
So why are more industrial applications adopting Ubuntu?
The answer is not that Ubuntu replaces traditional industrial control systems. Industrial equipment is evolving, and it needs more than control logic.
Traditional industrial systems focus on a familiar process:
Data acquisition → Logic → Control
PLCs are well suited to this type of deterministic control.
However, modern industrial applications often require additional capabilities:
Industrial projects are no longer just about controlling machines. They also involve computing, networking, data processing, and software applications.
This is where industrial computers and edge computing platforms become useful.
Ubuntu provides access to a broad Linux software ecosystem, including:
Python · C/C++ · Node.js · Docker · Node-RED · MQTT · Databases
These tools allow developers to build and deploy applications without developing every software component from scratch.
For example, an industrial data acquisition application could follow this architecture:
Industrial Devices → RS485/CAN/Ethernet → Ubuntu → Python/Node-RED → Docker → MQTT/API → Cloud or MES
Ubuntu therefore offers more than an operating system. It provides a flexible environment for developing and deploying industrial edge applications.
Ubuntu and Linux are no longer limited to traditional x86 computers. They are also widely used on ARM-based platforms.
ARM industrial computers can provide a balance between computing performance, power consumption, size, and hardware flexibility.
Compared with a conventional industrial PC, an ARM-based platform may be more suitable for certain compact embedded applications.
Compared with a microcontroller, it can provide a richer software environment for applications such as Python, Docker, databases, and Web services.
This makes ARM + Linux/Ubuntu a practical combination for many industrial edge computing applications.
However, running Ubuntu alone does not make a device industrial-ready.
Industrial applications also require suitable interfaces, reliable hardware, communication options, and a design that fits the deployment environment.
Industrial automation involves two closely connected environments.
OT (Operational Technology) includes:
PLCs, sensors, meters, industrial I/O, and field devices.
IT (Information Technology) includes:
Databases, APIs, Docker, Web applications, cloud platforms, and enterprise software.
An industrial edge computer can help connect these two environments.
It can collect data from field devices through RS485, CAN, Ethernet, or industrial I/O, process the data locally, and communicate with MES, SCADA, databases, or cloud platforms.
This is one practical approach to IT/OT integration.
This is the role of BLIIOT ARMxy, an industrial ARM computer and edge computing platform designed to combine Linux-based software capabilities with industrial hardware interfaces.
Depending on the model and configuration, ARMxy supports Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu and Debian, as well as software tools including Python, Node-RED, and Docker.
Its modular SOM + X/Y architecture allows customers to select different computing platforms and I/O combinations according to their application requirements.
Available interfaces and expansion options can include:
RS485 · RS232 · CAN · DI · DO · AI · AO · GPIO · RTD · TC
Selected configurations can also support communication options such as 4G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
This allows ARMxy to serve as a computing and connectivity layer between industrial equipment and software applications.
For OEM customers, modular hardware can also reduce the need to redesign the underlying platform for every project.
Not necessarily.
PLCs remain well suited to deterministic control, sequencing, and industrial I/O.
Ubuntu-based ARM industrial computers are useful for data processing, networking, databases, containerized applications, Web services, and edge AI.
A practical industrial architecture may therefore combine both:
PLC → Real-time control
ARM Industrial Computer + Ubuntu → Computing, data processing, and connectivity
Each platform performs the tasks it is designed for.
What could your industrial application achieve with Linux software, industrial I/O, and edge computing on the same platform?
